More information : MUNCASTER CASTLE II*
Woodland and deer park (100ha) to north-east and south-west of Muncaster Castle (SD 19 NW 6). Outstanding collection of rhododendrons, azaleas and other exotic shrubs and trees created by Sir John Ramsden since 1917 and set among native woodland, now fully mature. Apart from the symmetrical lawns and borders of the western garden front, most planting is informal. The Terrace Walk, however, curving for three quarters of a kilometre to the south-west, south and south-east of the castle is a formal and controlled focus for the entire scheme. (1)
Landscape park, pleasure grounds and gardens. The gardens are 18th century in origin and include pleasure grounds dating to the 19th and early 20th century. Features include a rhododendron collection which was started in the mid 1840s by the fourth Lord Muncaster who planted species collected by Sir Joseph Hooker in Sikkim between 1847-51. The collection was extended by Sir John Ramsden during the interwar period. Species collected by Frank Kingdom Ward, Frank Ludlow and George Sherriff were included. The park is first documented in 1528 and had been landscaped by 1793. (2) |